Salt shaker



wi l 20, 1948. I '1'. R. DUNCAN 2,439,799

SALT SHAKER Filed April 21,- 1945 Patented Apr. 20, 1948 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE SALT SHAKER Theodore R. Duncan, North Hollywood, Calif.Application April 21, 1945, Serial No. 589,494

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a shaker for granular material.

One object of the invention is to'provide a salt shaker which can befilled without removing a closure member.

A more specific'object relates to a salt shaker provided with a fillinghopper-shaped end portion through which granular material 'may beintroduced without'removing the cover, in combination with a cagecontaining an oscillatory retarder located subjacent the mouth of thehopper which the material flows past when the device is maintained in anormal upstanding position and which in the dispensing positionintermittently discharges small quantities of the material as the deviceis shaken.

Other objects, advantages and features of invention will hereinafterappear.

Referring to the drawing which illustrates what is deemed at present tobe a preferred embodiment of the invention,

Fig. 1 is a top plan view looking in the direction of the arrows II inFig. 2.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on line Z2 of Fig. 1 with some partsshown in elevation.

Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the hopper-shaped top and the attachedcage.

Referring in detail to the drawing, the cylindrical container 7 is shownhaving a hoppershaped cover 8 screwed onto one end thereof. Said coveris shown of the sheet metal type thus making it convenient to furnishits inner end with an outwardly directed lip 9 with a resultant externalgroove l0. Detachably fastened to the inner end of the hopper-shapedcover 8 is an approximately semicircular skeletal cage H which is shownas comprising two U-shaped intersecting wires I2 and a split annularwire [3 to which the ends of the U-shaped wires are secured, said splitwire being arranged to spring into the groove I!) to detachably fastenthe cage to the hopper.

Within the skeletal cage I l is loosely contained a globular oscillatoryretarding member Hi. This globular retarder as well shown in Fig. 2,when seated upon the cage leaves unobstructed the open spaces betweenthe four wires 12 throughout more than the upper half of the cage sothat, when the device is positioned with its hopper portion directedupwardly, granular material may be filled speedily thereinto. Whenhowever the hopper end portion of the container is directed downwardlythe globular retarder will gravitate to the dotted line position of Fig.2. Therefore when tained salt or other granular material.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purposeof illustration only and that this invention includes all modificationsand equivalents which fall within the scope of the subject matterclaimed.

What is claimed is:

1. In a device of the kind described, a container having a hopper-shapedend portion to feed granular material into the container during thefilling thereof, an approximately semicircular skeletal cage having atone side a mouth portion externally surrounding and detachably connectedwith the inner end of said hopper-shaped portion, and a globularretarder oscillatably contained within said cage and of a sizesufficiently large in diameter to prevent it from escaping through theinner end of said hopper.

2. A container having a sheet material wall portion which is so shapedas to provide a funnel shaped filling hopper directed toward theinterior of the container, a closure member to close at times the innerend or mouth of said hopper, and means for floatably supporting saidclosure member in an inwardly spaced relation to said mouth of saidhopper when the small end of the latter is directed downwardly, saidclosure member being positioned and shaped to gravitate against andclose the hoppers month by fitting against the sheet material borderingsaid mouth when the container is inverted, the mouth portion of saidhopper having an annular shoulder around it, said closure membersupporting means normally resting upon said shoulder.

3. In a device of the kind described, a container having a hopper-shapedend portion to feed granular material into the container during thefilling thereof, an approximately semicircular skeletal cage having atone side a mouth portion externally surrounding and detachably connectedwith the inner end of said hoppershaped portion, and a globular retarderoscillatably contained within said cage and of a size Number said cagecomprising an annular resilient por- 5 2356963 tion springable into saidgroove to maintain the cage in its attached position.

THEODORE R. DUNCAN.

REFERENCES CITED;- The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

Number UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Sprinkle Aug. 30, 1910- GoldbertJan. 9, 1945 Neef May 15, 1883 Ball Mar. 24, 1936 Carlisle May 7, 1918.Hanke Oct. 10, 1911,

' FOREIGNPATENTS;

Country Date Germany Feb. 7, 1936,

